The University’s Commencement Committee is expected to recommend a venue for this year’s ceremony Friday – either the new MCI Center or the Ellipse. But the University lacks funds to hold Commencement on the Ellipse this May, said the University’s special events director and committee member Lynn Shipway.

Shipway said a reduced special events budget for Commencement falls short of the money necessary to hold the ceremony on the Ellipse.

“This year’s cut is a real problem,” Shipway said. “We are talking about a significant amount of money.”

According to the committee the University budget of $372,000 for this year’s Commencement is a $210,000 drop from last year’s expenses.

Last year’s Commencement was $200,000 over budget, according to Walter Bortz, vice president for administrative and information services. He said the amount was not increased this year because of possible expense reductions for the weekend or a move to the MCI Center.

“We anticipated there were things we could do to decrease the cost of having the event on the Ellipse, and anticipated a possible change of venue,” Bortz said.

If Commencement is on the Ellipse, major budget cuts would be necessary, such as canceling Monumental Celebration, the gala held before Commencement, and making graduates pay for their own regalia, Shipway said. She said she expects the committee to make recommendations for cost-saving measures if it recommends the Ellipse.

“We will change ways to do things on the Ellipse without compromising the event, but eliminating some of the cost,” she said. “If (GW President Stephen Joel) Trachtenberg decides that Commencement will be on the Ellipse, I assume that in doing that, he will have to resolve how we will fund that additional expense.”

The committee is expected to vote on a venue to recommend to Trachtenberg at the Friday meeting, according to Student Association Kuyomars “Q” Golparvar.

Shipway said she thinks the MCI Center plan could fit into the current budget. Although the committee has not received cost estimates from Centre Management, the MCI Center’s facilities operator, Shipway said she believes the cost would be significantly less than that for Commencement on the Ellipse.

The University already has reserved the arena for the day of Commencement, although no deposit has been given, said Pat Darr, Centre Management senior vice president for events.

Darr conducted a tour of the building for committee members and students in December and noted that the ceremony could be held either end-stage or in the round, which would hold 15,000 people.

But when the cost question was posed to Darr during the tour, Michael Peller, executive director of Student and Academic Support Services, said that it was too early to discuss pricing of the arena.

Shipway said, “I don’t think it’s unreasonable to believe that we could come in at budget in an indoor venue.”

“People were impressed with the MCI Center facilities,” Golparvar said. “They thought it was a terrific arena, but I am not sure everyone was convinced it was the right place for Commencement.”

Shipway said she believes the MCI Center has real benefits, but also said she cannot escape emotional pleas from students to continue the Ellipse ceremony.

Cost is a factor determining the recommendation, but it will not be the main factor in determining which venue she votes for, she said.

“I think there are some other things that are equally important, if not more important,” she said. “What I am looking for at the meeting is to appreciate the advantages of the Ellipse in the face of some very real risks that I cannot dismiss out of hand.”

“Because of the overwhelming student desire to have it on the Ellipse, I would suspect, based on that, that it will be the consensus of the committee,” said GW Law School Associate Dean John Jenkins, the committee’s chair, during the tour of the MCI Center.

Jenkins is expected to determine whether the recommendation will be agreed on by acclimation or a vote, Shipway said.

But Golparvar said he believes the group is not at a consensus, and is unsure whether a vote will occur. He said he expects the recommendation to be for this May and future years.

The committee will meet at 9:30 a.m. in room 413 of the Marvin Center.